Hotels

Category Archives for Hotels.

Free Full Breakfast No Longer A Brand Standard For Hyatt Place

by Gary Leff on November 6, 2020

Nov 06 2020

Hyatt Place is changing its breakfast offerings. They are going to vary by region of the world. Guests will no longer be guaranteed a free hot breakfast at any Hyatt Place in the world, even if they are members of World of Hyatt booking direct. That’s a huge change.

This degrades the premium brand that Hyatt Place has built. You still get reasonably stylish large rooms. I’m a fan of Hyatt Places generally, at least the properties that aren’t ex-AmeriSuites. Fortunately the change shouldn’t affect top tier Hyatt elites.

Hotel Guest Furious When Fire Department Wakes Him Up To Find He’s Alive – And Discovered His Crack

by Gary Leff on October 30, 2020

Oct 30 2020

The guest was arrested for possession of crack and disorderly conduct. His car had an “improper license plate” and he had no insurance, either. But he didn’t apparently have to pay extra for overstaying checkout time.

15 Nights Is All It Takes To Earn Hilton Diamond Through March 2023

by Gary Leff on October 29, 2020

Oct 29 2020

Right now, because of how three of their Hilton’s policies work together, 15 hotel nights are enough to earn Diamond status through March 2023

Marriott Extends Expiration Of Free Night Awards, Further Pauses Points Expiration

by Gary Leff on October 26, 2020

Oct 26 2020

Marriott announced that Free Night Awards that were originally supposed to expire in 2020 or that will expire before July 31, 2021, will have their expiration date extended to August 1, 2021. In addition Marriott had previously said they wouldn’t expire any points due to account inactivity until February 1, 2021. That’s been extended to August 1, 2021 as well.

Hotels And Planes Are Both Safer Than We Thought (While Driving Still Has Risks)

by Gary Leff on October 17, 2020

Oct 17 2020

There’s been no known cases of Covid-19 transmission on US airlines. Sure US contact tracing isn’t very good. But even internationally and across the whole world there are only a few flights where spread is believed to have occurred despite around a billion people traveling so far this year.

Hotels too seem to be safe. There haven’t been documented cases of spread between rooms either in hotels or office buildings.

Hilton Squaw Peak Decides Its Name Is Racist And Derogatory

by Gary Leff on October 9, 2020

Oct 09 2020

This month we lost ‘Eskimo Pies’ in a renaming to Edy’s Pie. So, too, the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort which is being renamed Hilton Phoenix Resort at the Peak because they’ve decided ‘Squaw Peak’ is racist.

Marriott’s Week Of Deals Includes 90% Of Hotels At Off Peak Award Rates

by Gary Leff on October 8, 2020

Oct 08 2020

Marriott has a series of promotions running for a week that starts today under the banner of “Week of Wonders”. There’s a sale on paid rates, a bonus offer for making a home booking, and the biggest in my view is all hotels at off peak rates and over 7000 Marriot properties are participating in this.

Booking category 7 hotels for 50,000 points per night, and category 8 hotels for 70,000 points, especially where fall is normally peak season is an amazing deal.

Hotels Give Up Easy Money Restricting Award Availability Like It’s The Before Times

by Gary Leff on October 7, 2020

Oct 07 2020

With hotels around the world hurting, and occupancy down and recovery stalled, you’d think a hotel would want revenue anywhere it can get it.

When members redeem points, the hotel chain pays the hotel for the room the guest is using. Yet hotels that used to shun award guests aren’t now welcoming them with open arms. I suspect they’re just not paying attention well to their own businesses.

Big Hotel Chain Is Building A New Airbnb Competitor. Is It A Big Move By Hilton?

by Gary Leff on October 7, 2020

Oct 07 2020

Publicis Sapient is hiring a Vice President of Project Management to launch a new home rental platform “n partnership with one of [their] market leading global hospitality clients.” This appears to be a hotel chain with “[a] well-established guest loyalty program.”

Hyatt’s Category 7 Hana-Maui Resort Now Has Award Rooms Bookable

by Gary Leff on October 6, 2020

Oct 06 2020

A month ago there was much fanfare over Hyatt’s taking over the Travaasa Hana hotel on Maui, on the eastern tip of the island – the opposite side from where most of the resorts are located. Initially part of their Destination Hotels brand (where many elite benefits don’t apply), it’s believed that it’ll become an Alila property when its renovations are complete.

One thing immediately stood out about the property, however: absolutely no award rooms. While they’ve been selling stays at the property, there weren’t any award nights available through the end of the schedule. That’s finally changed.